Day 224: On Juggling Five Balls
第224天：关于玩转生命中的五个球
Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls… are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.
想象一下，人生就像一场游戏，你要玩转生命中的五个球。这五个球分别是：工作、家庭、健康、朋友和诚信。总有一天，你终于会明白，只有工作是一个橡皮球，其他四个球......是玻璃做的。如果你把它们都扔向空中，只有工作这个球会反弹回来，其它四个就再也不会复原，它们可能会少了一角，留下无法挽回的记号、刻痕、损坏甚至碎落一地。
—James Patterson
Self-discipline and your long-term goals are important, but throughout all of my books, I periodically emphasize that life isn’t only about accomplishment. In fact, your well-being, living with integrity, and the relationships you have with your friends and family matter more than everything else.
自律和长期目标固然重要，但在我所有的书中，我都会不时地强调，生活并不只有成就。
事实上，你的幸福、诚信生活以及与朋友和家人的关系比其他一切都重要。
What’s the point of self-improvement if you can’t share your successes and failures with others? Is being super-rich worth it if you’ve developed a reputation of a crook? Does it make sense to lose your health just to get a promotion at work?
如果不能与他人分享成败得失，自我提升又有什么意义？
如果你已经背上了骗子的名声，那么成为超级富豪还值得吗？
为了升职而失去健康有意义吗？
When balancing between different aspects of your life, always prioritize the glass balls over the rubber one. You can always accomplish your goals later, but you can’t always restore relationship with your family, revive your friendships, recover your health, or regain trust.
在平衡生活的不同方面时，总是优先考虑玻璃球，而不是橡胶球。
你总能在以后实现自己的目标，但你不可能总能恢复与家人的关系、重拾友谊、恢复健康或重获信任。
Spend five minutes today thinking whether you’re careful enough when handling the glass balls in your life. How often do you ignore your health or family to focus on work? How can you work on your goals in a more sustainable way that would reduce the risk of losing your health, integrity, or relationships?
今天花五分钟想想，在处理生活中的玻璃球时，你是否足够谨慎？
你有多少次为了专注于工作而忽略了自己的健康或家庭？
你怎样才能以一种更可持续的方式努力实现你的目标，从而降低失去健康、诚信或友谊的风险？
